


Stolen Wings

by No1fan15



Series: Frozen Feathers [1]
Category: Maximum Ride - James Patterson
Genre: Bird/Human Hybrids, Gen, M/M, Werewolves
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-28
Updated: 2020-01-01
Packaged: 2020-03-07 05:09:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,742
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18866356
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/No1fan15/pseuds/No1fan15
Summary: They're a motley crew for sure. A bunch of hybrids on the run around Canada. If there's one thing they don't need it's the enemies help.Right?





	1. Talk or Drop?

**Author's Note:**

> Fuck you James Patterson it's gay bird time

Cold.

They were so cold it hurt.

Their entire body was freezing. Every inch of skin was exposed to the bitter wind and rain. They felt a shiver jolt them out of their tired trance. They were losing height. With muscles burning they pushed with all their strength.

And kept flying

They panted heavily as they tried to move their sodden wings. Feathers had started to shed near their primaries. Their heartbeat pounded in their ears and they could barely hear a loudspeaker crackle in the distance.

“Subject TV-7 endurance flight test – Hour four clocked.”

It had only been four hours. They let out a frustrated yell as they flapped. Four hours would barely get them any rest time. They glanced half heartedly at the net a dozen feet above them. Open to the elements and deceptively thin they knew from experience it was electrified. It was still so tempting. Maybe if they hit it hard enough it would knock them out. Then they could rest a while. They'd take anything at this point.

Their fingers and toes were numb and they couldn’t feel their ears. Everything was frozen yet burned at the same time. They faltered and a wingtip brushed against the domes side. They yelped as a spark ran through them. They couldn’t take this anymore. With frustrated resignation they altered their trajectory to the open cage sitting on the ground below. Back to the lab after all. Then a surge of rebellion. They wouldn’t let the whitecoats take them. With their grim decision made they folded their wings against their back and let gravity take them. Maybe this crash would be the one to do it. They closed their eyes and waited.

 

The sound of rain hadn’t stopped. They blinked and realized they’d woken up. Right. A nightmare. Of course.

“Damn flashbacks…” they muttered as they slowly sat up. The storm had weakened overnight and the light patter of raindrops on the wooden roof threatened to lull them back to sleep. They were used to sleeping in a barn by this point anyways. A quick glance towards the empty windowframe revealed dawn was fast approaching. They sighed and reluctantly unfurled their wings from their body, letting the accumulated warmth leave.

TV stood and stretched. A chill ran down their back but it was nothing compared to their nightmare. As they tried to wake themselves up they caught a glimpse of their reflection in a shard of broken glass nearby. Tired brown and blue eyes set against brown and pink splotched skin stared back at them. They pulled one of their wings in and plucked a piece of hay from their flight feathers. It was easy to spot among the greys and browns of their plumage. With a final shake of their wings TV turned to look back into the barn. They took a deep breath of the musty air and got ready to speak.

“Roll call time, y'all. Get those feathers shaking.” they exclaimed. A chorus of disgruntled complaints, both at the pun and the early hour, rose up from the barns other inhabitants. TV placed their hands on their hips. “Come on, you've woken up for worse. Sound off!”

“Blue!” said a small voice from behind a hay bale. It was accompanied by a tiny tan colored hand and a mess of blue hair. The little girl blinked sleepily at TV. “Up already?”

“Sorry Blue. I’ll carry you for the first leg this morning, okay?” TV said as a slight pang of guilt hit them. Every so often it really became clear that someone Blues age should never be on the run like she was. Especially the moments when she looked this tiny. Blue rubbed at her eyes and nodded.

“ ‘Kay.” she said with an impressive yawn.

“Next!” TV called. Silence in response. “NEXT!”

“Sparky! M'up, don’t shout.” came the reply from one of the rafters. TV glared up at the shock of red hair and feathers that was draped over it.

“I told you not to sleep up there.” they said.

“But it's cool….” Sparky whined. He wiggled his wings to accentuate his point.

“You're thirteen. Everything's cool.” TV pointed out. They could see Sparky pouting so clearly his freckles were visible.

“Blue and Lem thought it was cool.” he said.

“Blue is seven and Lem didn’t want to upset you.” TV said. “Speaking of Lem…”

“Present.” a quiet voice piped up from behind them. TV looked over to see a familiar mass of spotted white wings surrounding a dark skinned teen. He looked tired as usual. It was a given with his DNA mix being a primarily nocturnal species. TV was always proud to see him up and about with everyone else.

“Thank you Lem.” TV said. “Next!”

“YEAH!?”

“Okay, Hen is here.” TV said with a wince. From across the barn Hen smirked and stretched out her wings. It was easy to tell she was part Canadian goose with that voice. “Next.”

“Ace.” A deep voice came from the door. A young man stood in the frame slightly obscured by large dusty blue wings. Black hair in a ponytail rested between them and his light brown skin was barely visible behind it.

“Of course you’re already up. You could have done roll call for me.” TV said. Ace shrugged. His usual reply. A chickadee’s whistle caught TV's attention. “And Jay is here. That makes seven.”

*All accounted for* Jay signed with a smile. Dark eyes sparkled from behind his equally dark bangs. TV returned the smile and walked over to their bag.

“Exactly. Now let's eat.”

 

“Do we have anything that's not a protein bar?”

“If you want to spend your allowance on groceries be my guest.” TV said. Sparky scowled and took a bite of his breakfast.

“Fine.” he grumbled through a mouthful of crumbs. Lem passed him a water bottle.

“Maybe if we all chipped in we could get something else?” he suggested. He fiddled with a wrapper and kept his gaze on the floor. Amber eyes occasionally flicked up to look at the adults present.

“Don’t worry about it, kiddo. Let the grown ups handle that stuff.” Hen said. She gave him a thumbs up. Lem refolded his wings anxiously but still tried to smile back.

“Speaking of grown up stuff…” Ace chimed in. He put down his food and looked pointedly at Lem. “You were trying to keep watch again, weren’t you?”

“…. I wanted to help.” Lem whispered. He'd started to curl up again.

*We will be lookouts. You need to sleep.* Jay signed. He accompanied the movements with a mourning doves cry. A somber but comforting sound. One they used to signal nightfall.

“Jay is right. You’re still growing and need your rest.” TV said. They resisted the urge to lean over and hug Lem only because it would get in everyone else’s way. “Just because you have night vision doesn’t mean you have to stay up every night. Alright?”

“….. alright.” Lem said. He attempted to smile again and this time succeeded.

“He should use his powers though. They’re super cool. Besides, it's not like you grown ups ever sleep.” Sparky commented as he finished his bar.

“That's because they’re busy protecting us. Right?” Blue said with a smile in TV's direction. TV smiled back and brushed Blue’s hair out of her eyes.

“That's right. Now finish up.”

 

By the time their meager breakfast was complete and put away the sun was beginning to peek out from behind the clouds. TV took a deep breath as the cool breeze blew over their skin. Their wings were already partly unfolded and the wind threatened to catch them and lift them into the sky. Not for the first time TV paused to admire their wings. Slate grey feathers gave way to black tipped pale ones. Even learning their species mix was a Turkey Vulture hadn’t diminished their appreciation for their wings.

“If you had hair I’m sure it would be billowing gloriously in the breeze right about now.” Ace commented. TV ignored his smirk and jabbed him with their elbow. They would have done it harder if his bag hadn’t been the one carrying all their tools.

“Everyone ready to go?” they asked. Their team all nodded. TV smiled at their motley crew. They were an odd bunch for sure. Any human avian hybrid would be. Blue walked up to TV and held out her arms. TV picked her up and held her close to their chest. “Right. I promised to carry a certain someone.”

“Uh-huh.” Blue confirmed. She tucked in her brightly patterned wings against her back as best she could. She looked at TV with a gap toothed smile. “I'm ready.”

“Alright then. Let's get moving.” TV said. With that they took a few running steps and leapt off the edge of the building. The combined weight of their bag and Blue was a lot but they'd handled it before. Within seconds they had soared up and away from the barn. After a few flaps they checked to make sure everyone had taken off. Ace and Hen were gliding at a steady height while Jay and Sparky flapped quickly to catch up. Their differing species had initially made group flying difficult but eventually they’d found a pace to fit all of them.

The countryside beneath them soon looked like a patchwork quilt. TV grinned. They were making good distance today. They took a deep breath. The scent trail they’d been following had faded lately but their was enough left to guide them. Their mission was the same as it always had been. Survive and help rescue others like them from the whitecoats. They’d managed to liberate three labs since their escape. That was one lab a year so far. TV hoped they’d keep that record this year. They managed to fly in silence for a few minutes more. A sharp hawk screech suddenly broke the morning stillness. A warning sign from Jay.

Danger.

TV whipped around and saw the rest of the group do the same. Three dark specks were fast approaching.

 

Erasers.

 

“Everyone, form up.”

TV let Blue drop from their arms. She flew a few feet behind them with a worried look. Sparky and Lem soon joined her. TV, Ace, and Hen took up positions surrounding the younger kids. Jay flew over to be their main guardian. They’d need someone protecting them once the fight started. Within seconds their enemies were close enough to see.

Two Erasers had transformed fully already. Snarling maws flecked drool to the ground hundreds of feet below. Tails flicked back and forth with macabre excitement. Brown fur whipped around in the wind as their clumsily grafted wings struggled to keep them aloft. One of them was still in his human form. His wings weren’t like the others. They merged smoothly with his body and the sunlight reflected off pitch colored plumage. It had a green blue shimmer to it. He must have been an avian hybrid like them at one point. His slitted pupils were proof enough that he’d been turned since then. His short black hair was slicked back against pale skin. His mouth was curled into a cruel grin that flashed sharpened teeth. An Eraser through and through despite his presentation.

“Hello there!” he shouted over with a wave. TV refused to return the greeting. So did the others. The Erasers usually didn’t try to talk to them. Although the pitch of the mans voice gave TV cause for pity. He sounded young, almost as young as them. He looked to be his late teens or early twenties. The whitecoats were raising kids for their dirty work now. Out of the corner of their eye TV caught Jay returning the wave. They shot him a glare and he lowered his hand sheepishly. Jay had always been one to want to talk things out rather than fight.

“Nothing to say?” the man continued. TV flipped him off. The two erasers on either side of the man growled but he simply laughed and held out his arms to keep them at bay. “Now, now. We don’t want anyone to get hurt, do we?”

“What do you want?” Ace spat, breaking the groups silence.

“I simply wish to speak with you.” said the man. “Establish some trust, as it were.”

“We have no reason to trust you.” TV said. The man nodded.

“That’s true. So, I’ll have to give you one.” he said. “To start us off, my name is Pale.”

*Hello.* More signing from Jay.

“Hello to you too. It's a pleasure, really.” Pale said. He raised his hands up to chest level. *Would this be an easier way to talk? What with the wind and all.*

*You can sign?* Jay asked. Despite the obvious danger signs he seemed excited. While TV knew Jay didn’t get to meet many others besides their group who could talk to him in his language the enemy was not a stellar example of such a person.

*Of course I can. It's a valuable asset.* Pale replied. He gestured to the Erasers next to him. *They cannot, however, so our conversation will be private.*

*If you’re not going to fight us then leave.* Hen signed furiously. She had been staring at the Erasers with so much rage since they arrived it was as if she was hoping to burn their wings off through sheer force of thought alone.. *We have nothing to discuss with you.*

*What about our trust?* Pale signed. *You haven’t heard my offer yet.*

*And what would that be? An empty promise of family? Of safety? We’ve heard it all.* TV signed.

*I bring no such things. Simply the truth.* Pale insisted. He dropped his smile and his body language shifted to something more recognizably hostile. *You seven are advanced hybrids. Finished projects.*

*That's how you’re starting off?* Ace signed. He'd raised an eyebrow and taken on a bemused expression. At least one of them was having fun.

*Lame.* Sparky chimed in from the back. He followed it up with a thumbs down and a raspberry. Classy.

*My point….* Pale signed. *Is that you are what we were trying to accomplish. With you gone the task falls to us to try until we get successes like you again.*

The only sound in the sky was the wind howling past the silent standoff. TV and the others stayed quiet as Pale continued signing.

*If you come back we can stop the experiments. You’ve been going around saving all these kids but the more you help the more the scientists have to bring in. They’re not going to give up because of some jailbreaks. You’re the only ones who can stop this. Come back. Bring in the others you released. End the suffering.* he finished. He lowered his hands and waited for a response.

*Going back won’t change anything.* TV signed after some hesitation. They pointedly ignored the somewhat valid point the Eraser had made. *It will only make things worse for us.*

*You don’t know that for sure.* Pale insisted. He sighed and dropped his hands again. “Only you can help. Please.”

“No deal, fleabag. You’ve wasted your time.” Ace said. Everyone except Jay joined him in glaring at the erasers.

“So it seems.” Pale snarled. His features began to shift as he started to transform.

 

The Erasers he'd held back grinned maniacally and dived forwards. Within seconds TV had flown up a few feet and dropped with all their weight feet first towards one of them. They connected to its skull with a crack and it dropped several dozen meters. Ace dove after it. Hen was already facing off with the other one. She would taunt it until it swiped and fly out of the way to draw it away from the group.

“It's a shame you couldn’t be civil about this.” Pale said. His voice was now gravelly and deep as his transformation had completed. His ears were pinned back and his fangs bared. Black fur rippled as the wind from his wings washed over it. “We could have helped each other.”

“I doubt it.” TV said. They darted towards the Eraser and tried to swing a punch at him. He dropped out of the way and came up behind them. They quickly flew out of his reach. Ace flew past the two with a nod towards TV. He'd handled one of the henchmen. TV responded by glancing at where Hen was dodging narrow blows from the other. Ace got the signal and flew over to help her.

“Three years on the run has really toughened you up. The scientists would be proud.” Pale said. TV scowled at him.

“Four years.” they corrected him. They followed it up with a quick kick aimed at his jaw. He barely moved in time and TV's boot caught the edge of his muzzle. He fell back and spat blood from his now cut lip.

“For such a proud lackey you sure are shit at fighting.”

“I’m a diplomat.” Pale said. “A trusted one. My days at Castleton were well spent.”

“I guess it's their program that’s shit then.” TV said. They moved towards him again and connected a solid punch to his snout. He dropped once more with more blood streaming down his face. TV landed a knee to his gut and caught him in a headlock. He clawed at their arm and flapped his wings uselessly. A bit more pressure stopped that piece of resistance. Hen and Ace joined the group again, their Eraser dispatched.

“Talk or drop?” Hen asked. She grabbed one of Pales wings and held it between her arms. Ace did the same on his other side.

“Well, he said himself he came to talk.” TV said. They stared coldly at the choking hybrid. “But that didn’t work.”

“Drop then?” Ace said. He tightened his grip on the wing. They would have gone through with their plan if at that moment they hadn’t heard a loons call from behind them. Jay wanted their attention. He flew over with the kids trailing after him.

*Don’t.* he signed. *He'll talk.*

“And how do you know that?” Hen asked.

*He said he's a diplomat.* Jay reminded them. *He tried to be peaceful when he arrived too. I don’t think he really wants to hurt us.*

“He said he trained at Castleton, right? That’s close by.” Sparky said. “Maybe a few days. There could be a lab there.”

“Please?” Blue added quietly.

“…… fine.” TV sighed. Once the kids sided with Jay they’d never hear the end of it. He also had a point. They were near the end of their current clue trail and more intel would be welcome. TV gave a nod to Ace and Hen. They dropped Pales wings and backed up. TV leaned in close to Pales head. “You try to fly away and we WILL break you.”

“Let's land over there.” Lem spoke up. He pointed at a dense wooded area below them.

“Good idea. It'll be easier to hit him.” Hen said. TV released their hold on Pale. He gasped loudly and floundered in the air as he tried to catch his breath and stay in the sky. The three older kids surrounded him and steadily descended towards the suggested location.

 

Once they landed they walked for a while before feeling safe enough to stop. TV crossed their arms and turned to face Pale. He was currently slumped against a tree with one hand on his side and the other pinching his nose. He slid down it to sit as he glared up at the hybrids around him.

“So. Got any information for us, wolf boy?” TV asked. Pale started to growl but it died in his throat as the group collectively stared him down.

“….. a little, yes.” he panted. “Castleton has a small lab. More avian human experiments. Just like you.”

“I’m sure you’re not lying about that.” Ace said sarcastically. TV was inclined to agree.

“And how do you plan to prove that?” Pale said. “None of you can detect lies.”

*We can’t….* Jay chimed in. He stepped towards the Eraser. *… but we can trust you.*

“Trust him? Are you insane!?” Hen exclaimed. Jay ignored her and knelt down in front of Pale.

*My name is Jay.* he signed. Pale eyed him suspiciously. Jay reached towards Pales side. Despite warning shouts from the group all the Eraser did was tense up. Jay slid a hand underneath Pales jacket. After a few moments he withdrew it. *You have a broken rib. If you try to change back before it heals it could kill you.*

Despite his black fur Pale appeared to live up to his name as his eyes widened with shock. He seemed to consider Jay’s warning and kept his wolf form. Jay smiled and reached into his bag. He pulled out a small first aid kit.

“You’re gonna waste that on him?” Hen said with disgust. Jay turned to look at her. He paused a moment. Then he went back to opening the kit. He pulled out a small container of pills.

*Painkillers. Should work for you unless wolf DNA rejects it.* he signed.

“…. They’ll work.” Pale grumbled. Jay held one out for him. After a few seconds of deciding if it was okay Pale relented and took the pill. He winced as he dry swallowed it. Then he sniffled as his nosebleed started up again. Jay pulled a small washcloth out of his kit and held it up to Pales snout. Pale put his hand over it and continued to look wary. TV tapped their foot anxiously. Whatever plan Jay was using had better pay off soon or they really were going to break that wolf.

*Now. Is there a lab at Castleton?* Jay signed.

“…… no. It's a holding facility. They train the Erasers there.” Pale admitted. His body slumped a bit and he sighed. “No hybrids.”

“Not worth our time then.” Ace said.

“It might be. They have records. Hundreds of ‘em. It’s a goldmine of info. Maps to the other facilities as well.” Pale said. He dabbed at his face with the cloth and handed it back to Jay.

“Then it's perfect!” Sparky said gleefully. “We could find so many others!”

“And be surrounded by countless Erasers. Did you miss the “training” part?” Ace said. Sparky looked deflated.

“Yeah, but…. we could sneak in! Lem is great at that!” he said. Everyone shushed him. Revealing their strengths in front of an enemy was never a good idea. Speaking of said enemy…

“If that’s all he has to say then we're done here.” TV said. The rest of the group gave them a look of quiet agreement. Jay stood up and all of them readied their wings. “Let's find a clearing and head out.”

“What about the doggie?” Blue asked. She pointed at Pale. Right. She was seven and this was the first Eraser that didn’t directly try to kill her.

“He's a bad doggie. He can lick his wounds and crawl home with his tail between his legs.” TV said. They took Blue’s hand. “Now, say bye-bye to the doggie.”

“Bye-Bye doggie!” Blue said. She waved cheerfully. Pale wisely kept his mouth shut.

*Bye-Bye doggie!* Jay joined in with a smile. He reached out and gave Pale a quick pat on the head. *Stay out of trouble. Got it?*

“…. Got it.” Pale grumbled. With that the group left him sitting against the tree with blood matted fur, a broken rib, and a bad attitude.

 

“We should have just killed him.” Ace muttered to TV as they walked. They had trailed behind the others for a little privacy.

“Trust me, I would have. Best way to secure our safety.” TV replied. “But after all that we probably couldn’t swing it in front of the kids.”

“I could always double back. Say I dropped something.” Ace said.

“They wouldn’t buy it. Too obvious.” TV said. If Ace disagreed he didn’t show it.

“If it makes things better…”

When did Lem get next to them?

“I got his wallet when we landed.” Lem said. He held it up with an anxious look. “Is that okay?”

“… silent hunter indeed.” Ace said. He took the wallet from Lem. “You never cease to amaze.”

“Did Lem steal something?” Sparky said. He ran over to them and grinned when he saw Lem’s prize. “Aw hell yeah! Money!”

“I haven't opened it yet.” Ace said.

“Well hurry up then! We could get lunch at a restaurant for once!” Sparky said.

“It'd be better off spent on supplies.” TV pointed out. The rest of the group had wandered over to see what the excitement was about.

“Let the kid dream. Any money is good money.” Hen said. Blue was holding her hand and looked up at the other adults.

“….. I want chicken nuggets.” she said. Hen laughed.

“You heard the girl. If we can swing it it’s nugget time.” she said. Everyone looked to Ace expectantly and Sparky was practically bouncing with excitement.

“Alright, I’ll open it.” Ace said. He unfolded the wallet and began rifling through the slots. “Let's see here… Drivers license, obviously a fake.”

“What’s his fake name? It can’t be worse than Pale.” TV said. Ace help up the card with a smirk.

“Dover Austin.”

“I was wrong, it's worse.” TV said. “Who chooses Dover as their first name?”

“An Eraser, apparently.” Ace said. He continued looking through the wallet. “Next up…. Ooh, fancy, he has a health card.”

“He's only nineteen?” Hen commented as she read it.

“It's probably a fake card too.” Sparky said. “You can’t trust any of them.”

“Good eye, Sparky. Never trust the whitecoats to give their troops anything legit.” Ace said. He paused as he located the next card. His eyes narrowed. “…. This one is probably real.”

“What makes you say that?” TV asked. Ace handed it to them. TV had to stifle a laugh. “Pick-A-Plush thirty dollar gift card?”

“…. Can I have that one?” Blue asked. TV handed it to her.

“Sure. Next time we hit a mall you can see if it works.” They said. Blue beamed and pocketed the card.

“Looks like we're in luck.” Ace said. He pulled out a small stack of bills. “Who'd like the honor of counting?”

“Me!” Sparky exclaimed as he raised his hand so enthusiastically he nearly put Lem’s eye out. “I can see the pink from here! We got a fifty!”

“Add ‘em up, Sparks.” Ace said with a small chuckle. He handed the money to Sparky who immediately began flipping through them.

“Five, Five, Twenty, Twenty, Fifty, Twenty, Ten, Five….” he said aloud as he checked them. He lifted a small coin triumphantly from the middle of the pile. “And a toonie!”

“So, how much does that make?” Hen asked him. Sparky focused his eyes on the bills like they’d add themselves.

“Let’s see…. Two fives is ten plus the other ten is twenty… two twenties is forty… another two makes eighty…” he mumbled. His brow furrowed as he did the math. “Eight plus five is…. 13, so that everything with the fifty is one hundred and thirty…. and the last five and the toonie so… One hundred and thirty seven dollars!”

“We have a winner! Great job!” Hen said. Sparky smiled happily as the group clapped for him.

“You’re getting really good at math.” Lem said. “Better than me.”

“Math isn’t a special power though.” Sparky said. He handed the pile of money back to Ace. “It's just… math.”

“Here's a special power. What happens if we take fifteen dollars away from one hundred and thirty seven?” Ace said. Sparky raised a brow but thought about it anyways.

“Ummm….. we get one hundred and….twenty two?” he said. Ace held out the three fives.

“The kids get their allowance.” he said. Sparky instantly perked up and the two other kids joined him. They each took a five with various thank yous being said. Ace put the money in his jacket pocket and tossed the wallet behind him.

“No way to know if that’s being tracked so we'll let Mr Wolf find it. Now put your treasures away and let’s get going.”

*I think Sparky and Blue had the right idea for lunch.* Jay signed. *Shall we?*

“Let's shall.” TV said. They rustled their wings and spread them. Getting a running start was harder than most takeoff methods but thankfully the clearing they’d found was large enough to allow them to get into the air. Once they’d reached a few feet above the treetops they checked on everyone else. A group of smiles met their gaze. TV returned the look and led the way. 


	2. Chicken nuggets and sabotage

"So what’s the call?” 

  
“Chew with your mouth closed and I’ll tell you.” TV said. Sparky hastily shoved a few more fries into said mouth before he closed it. TV briefly considered giving him a lecture on manners but the impatient look from everyone else quashed the notion. They were a good half hour into lunch and all of them got antsy being in public places that long. “Alright. First up is getting supplies.” 

  
“Afftr fimshin lumch” 

  
“Closed mouth, Sparky. Once we're stocked up we'll get out the map and start planning routes.” 

  
“So we're going then?” Hen said. “To the lab?” 

  
“Looks like it's our best choice at the moment. The last trail is gone and we don’t have any other leads.” TV said. 

  
“We're trusting the wolf?” Ace said. 

  
“Doggie?” Blue perked up and managed to tear her gaze away from her food. “Is the doggie gonna help?” 

  
*The info he gave us will.* Jay signed. He was a solid minute into a milkshake and hadn’t stopped drinking for what seemed like the whole time he’d had it. 

  
“This had better pay off.” Hen grumbled. She'd demolished her eggs before anyone else had started eating and was now on lookout. Her ability to sense when the kids were in danger made her the first choice. 

  
“If it doesn’t we'll just find our canine friend and drop him.” Ace said. He poked at his yogurt. “If he's from the area I bet we're gonna see him again sometime.” 

  
“So. Castleton. A couple of days flying and then bam. Right in the middle of an Eraser training facility.” Hen said. 

  
“Three days going by the map.” Sparky said as he’d finally finished his meal. He briefly examined the small toy that came with his meal, a tiny plush dog, and handed it to Blue. She beamed and immediately started playing with it along with her own. 

  
“You remember the map that well?” TV said. Sparky shrugged. 

  
“Yeah. S'just a bunch of lines and numbers and stuff. Not that hard.” he said. 

  
“We only got it a month ago.” Ace said. “Memorized the thing already?” 

  
“Nothing better to do when we're resting. We don’t exactly have any books.” Sparky pointed out. 

  
“Hopefully we'll have a lot more to read soon if that wolf is to be believed.” Ace said. 

  
“What supplies to we need to get?” Lem piped up. His tray was empty and he'd pulled out a small notepad. He'd bought it last year and despite some wear it was holding up well. 

  
“Mostly just food and maybe some new jackets for the kids.” TV said. 

  
“I also need new shoes.” Sparky added. 

  
“Right. Shoes for Sparky.” TV said. “All of that will drain our funds pretty quickly even with the boost we got from Pale's wallet. Is there anything else we should be on the lookout for? Sales-wise?” 

  
“We should re-stock the first aid kit.” Hen said. She glanced at Jay. “Somebody used our stuff on a stray.” 

  
*It got us the information we needed, right?* said Jay. He then added sheepishly - *We will need a new washcloth though. Eraser blood doesn’t come out easily.* 

  
“Don’t forget new clothes for Blue, pads for TV and I, new mapping materials.” Hen listed. “We're gonna burn through the new money so fast we won’t have any left for emergencies.”

  
“We need the essentials first. Then comes everything else.” Ace said. “That means we prioritize rations, hygiene products, medical supplies, then clothes.” 

  
“Alright.” TV said. “Assignment time.” 

  
“Can I do the groceries this time? The first aid stuff is always so boring.” Sparky asked. TV gave him a smile. 

  
“I’ve got good news for you Sparks.” they said. “I spotted a Big Bear on the way in. We can get everything in one place.” 

  
*A Big Bear? We might not be broke after all.* Jay chimed in. He’d finally finished his drink and had a hopeful smile on his face. *Are we using the family maneuver?* 

  
“That we are.” TV said. “Team Toddler will head in first for clothes and hygiene. Pick up some snacks while you’re in there.” 

  
“Got it!” Hen said. Blue wiggled in her seat with excitement. 

  
“Can I pick the snacks?” she asked. Ace reached over to pat her head. 

  
“Only one type. And you have to ask nicely when we're in there, okay?” he said. Blue nodded. 

  
“Okay!” she said. She promptly went back to playing with her toy dogs. 

  
“Are we gonna do Silent Siblings?” Sparky asked. 

  
“Yep. You and Jay focus on food. Get the best deals you can find. Any medical supplies you can take we need. And…” TV started.

 

  
*Don't be afraid to pull the sympathy card.* Jay finished. *The same goes for Team Toddler.* 

  
“Lem and I will be on lookout.” TV said. “After everyone is out we'll head in for shoes and any other supplies we need with what spending money we have left. Speaking of money…” 

  
“Our current budget is about one hundred and five left from Pale's wallet and maybe fifty from our own savings.” Lem said. He tapped his notes. “Team Toddler will need the most of it.” 

  
“Let's give them fifty five. That leaves fifty even for everyone else.” Sparky said. 

  
“Alright. Operation Big Bear is a go.” Ace said with a grin. 

  
“Let's get this over with.” Hen said. TV couldn’t agree with her more. They really needed to get out of this town and soon. 

 

 

Lynn Hart was having an average day of work as a cashier at the local Big Bear. Given the smallness of the town it was the best place available. She was a young adult living by herself in a shitty apartment and no family around. She was lucky they'd hired her with her sparse background and no experience. That didn’t help much when she reflected on the long hours, tiring customer service, and constant mess. Still she stuck to it. At least each day was interesting. 

She finishing ringing up her current customer and called for the next. A boy and girl her own age stepped up to the counter. On it they placed two large boxes of pads, ( $10.00 each ), toothpaste and some brushes, ($5.00 in total), a small washcloth, (Just $5), and some children’s sized clothes from clearance, ($4.99, $9.99, and $2.50 respectively). She briefly pondered on why the clothes were there but quickly glossed over it. Prying into personal stuff wasn’t her job. A few taps on the keyboard brought up their total. 

  
“With tax that’ll be $54.60. How would you like to pay?” Lynn asked in the most chipper voice she could muster at four on a Tuesday. 

  
“Cash please.” said the boy. He pulled some bills out of his jacket pocket and started flipping through them. A small hand came into view to tug on the girls sweater. 

  
“Can we get this? Please?” said a kids voice. 

  
“How much are they?” asked the girl with an expression that bode poorly for the answer no matter what it was. 

  
“They’re five. Like me!” said the kid. Lynn could see her a little better now. A bright mess of blue hair fell over hope filled brown eyes. A tiny pink backpack was flanked by contrastingly large blue plush wings. Realistic plush wings but plush all the same. They had to be after all. The kid held up a packet of soft cookies shaped like cat paws. 

  
“Molly, baby,” the girl said as she knelt down. “We don't have enough money for them today.” 

  
“Oh….” said the kid. She lowered the box and held back a sniffle. The treat was so small it could have fit into her overalls front pocket. 

  
“I’m sorry honey. Maybe next week.” said the girl. It dawned on Lynn that she may be looking at a young couple who had a kid much earlier than expected. It definitely explained the lack of funds and why the girl, Molly, accepted the facts so fast. 

  
“Okay… I’ll put ‘m back.” mumbled Molly. 

  
“You’ll do no such thing, young lady. I’ll pay for you.” The lady in line behind the couple spoke up. 

  
“Really?” Molly said with the hope quickly returning to her expression. 

  
“Really. Don’t you worry about it, sweetheart.” the lady said. She went through her wallet and held out a ten dollar bill to the parents. “You two can keep the change.”

  
“Thank you. From all of us.” said the father. The mother picked up Molly with a smile. 

  
“What do we say to the nice lady, Molly?” she said. 

  
“Thank you!” Molly said with a gap toothed smile. The lady returned the smile. 

  
“It's no trouble at all.” she said. She leaned in towards the couple and lowered her voice. “I know how hard it is for you at your age. Just remember to pay it forward someday.” 

  
“We will. Once again, thank you so much.” said the father. 

  
The couple with the rather articulate five year old left with smiles and waves. 

 

Shortly after her lunch break Lynn met the next interesting set of customers for that day. A rather tall man came by alongside a short redheaded boy. They placed a basket of food on the counter and Lynn started scanning it all in. While she worked she noticed the mans hands moving. ASL? It seemed to be as the boy responded the same way. They continued their quiet conversation as she continued until all the food was in the system. A couple of boxes of bandages, a small bottle of rubbing alcohol, and gauze were the only things that looked out of place amid the small pile of groceries. 

  
“That brings your total to $47.90 with the tax. How would you like to pay?” Lynn asked. 

  
“In cash.” said the boy as the man brought out a small wallet. He handed her a fifty and she opened the cash to give him his change. He took it with a gentle smile. The kid brought out a cloth shopping bag and began putting their purchases into it. He smiled up at Lynn as he did so. “Your hair looks really cool!” 

  
“Oh, thank you.” Lynn said. She self consciously ran her hand over the short green pile of fuzz that counted as her hair. Most of the time she just got stares. “Yours is cool too.” 

  
“You really think so?” said the boy. His grin grew even wider. “I don't have to dye it or anythin'! It's always like this.” 

  
“Wanna know a secret?” asked Lynn.

  
“Yeah!” said the boy. She leaned over the counter and in the best half remembered broken ASL she could speak said:

  
 *So is mine.* 

  
*You speak sign language?* the boy said. His hands were almost too fast for her to make out. 

  
“I tried to learn once.” Lynn said with a small laugh. *It's not very good.* 

  
*I think you are doing good.* signed the man. He had an extremely soft and gentle look on his face. He signed slow enough for Lynn to grasp the words and fingerspelled a few for her. 

  
“Thank you. I’ll keep trying to learn more.” Lynn said. She gave the two a wave as they left. A short respite from her work. 

 

The store was around an hour from closing when the last customers of any note arrived. Lynn was listening to the radio droning the same top five pop hits as they walked in. A teenage boy and his older…. sibling? Lynn couldn’t discern a gender by sight alone but they were still beautiful. Mismatched blue and brown eyes that looked out from messily patterned skin. They were also very tall, maybe 5’8" if Lynn had to guess. When the two came to the counter she repressed the “oh no they’re cute" feeling rather well. She gave them the usual smile and said “How can I help you tonight?” 

  
“Just these.” said the boy. He placed a few marked down jackets in front of her. 

  
“And this.” added his sibling. They placed a small shoebox on the counter. Lynn started to ring up the items but found her eyes wandering towards the older sibling. 

  
“All of that will be $49.50. I really like your jacket.” she said. Compliments were a great way to start conversations, right? The person glanced down at the jacket in question. It was a dark brown fabric lined with ivory fur. It was large but not bulky and the hood was large enough to look like a scarf when it was down. Lynn tried to keep things going. “Is it real fur?” 

  
“Unfortunately. I got it second hand from a friend.” said the person. They gave Lynn a small grin that made her heart jump. “Ethically sourced, don’t worry. It was roadkill.” 

  
“Well, you make it look good.” Lynn said. She regretted the words as soon as they left her mouth. Why did attractive people do this do her? It was like her ex girlfriend all over again. However this stranger seemed to appreciate the odd compliment and smiled wider. 

  
“Thanks…” they scanned her name tag. “Lynn.” 

  
“You’re welcome…” 

  
“Terry.” 

  
“Terry.” Lynn handed them their bag with a sense of relief. The boy had already bagged everything else without her noticing and handed her the cash. She gave him his change with a smile. “Have a good night!” 

  
“You too.” said Terry. Lynn waved to the siblings as they left and made the conscious decision to ignore the few snacks that were now missing from the counter. They didn’t pay her enough to chase after shoplifters of meat sticks and mints. 

  
After she’d closed her register Lynn stretched and clocked out. As she walked home she winced as her undershirt rubbed against her skin. She hated the longer shifts. It made her scales itch really badly. Still, it was better than being stuck in a lab being experimented on. She flicked out her tongue to taste the sweet night air that even after three years she hadn’t gotten used to. Yeah, her freedom wasn’t quite what she expected but neither was her escape. The breakout had been the best thing to ever happen to her. She stared up at the stars and hoped once again that whoever had made that escape happen was having a good life. 

 

 

“So, how much we got left?” 

  
“Not much but feel free to count it up for us.” TV said as they handed a small pile of coins to Sparky. He took them and immediately started adding them up. The team had regrouped in a nearby clearing and Blue was already settled down for the night. TV had unzipped two slits on the back of their jacket to let their wings rest freely. Everyone else had done the same with their own once they were out of the town. 

  
“Let's see… Team Toddler had a good samaritan help out and have ten dollars forty cents. Silent Siblings has three dollars and ten cents. That makes thirteen fifty. Lookout crew got a dollar fifty which makes fourteen plus the fifty cents makes the total fifteen!” Sparky said as he worked it out. He handed the money back to TV. “We got fifteen dollars left over!” 

  
“And TV got flirted with.” Ace added with a smirk. “Does that count for anything?” 

  
“Shut it.” TV said as they put the money away. Once Ace started teasing them he rarely let up. 

  
“At least your roadkill jacket impressed her.” he continued. “What was the name of the fur? Nameless Eraser number whatever?” 

  
“She was legitimately roadkill.” TV said. “In my defense it's less awful than if I killed her myself.” 

  
“Could y'all quiet down the murder talk? There's children present.” Hen said. She gestured towards the sleeping Blue on her lap. 

  
“I wanna talk murder…” Sparky mumbled. 

  
“Let's talk sabotage instead.” Ace said. He brought out the map. “Thankfully for us this particular lab isn’t very public. It's small and in the middle of the woods. Easy to stay out of the public eye.” 

  
*It's still pretty close to the town. We need to stay cautious.* Jay added. *Especially will all the Erasers that are going to be there.* 

  
“He's right. This will be tough.” Hen said. She scowled. “Can't we split up for this one?” 

  
“No. We work as a team.” TV said. “I know you want to protect the kids, Hen, but they’ve done this sort of thing before. Just keep a close eye on them.” 

  
“Fine. If one of them gets hurt it’s on you.” Hen said. TV sighed. 

  
“I know. Now let's get back to planning.” 

  
“Is there any ways for me to sneak in and shut stuff down?” Lem asked. 

  
“I don’t know. We don’t have a whole lot of information on the building itself.” Ace said. He looked thoughtfully at the map. “All we can really do is hope for the best.” 

“Let's keep hoping then. We head out in the morning. Once we have eyes on the lab we can plan more.” TV concluded. 

  
*Goodnight then.* Jay signed as he lay down on top of his sweater. *I’m glad it’s warm tonight. We don’t have to sleep in a cave again.* 

  
“Or another barn.” Hen agreed. “They’re nice but the hay gets stuck everywhere.”  

  
“Everyone rest up. We have a lot to do tomorrow.” TV said. They stood up and stretched their wings. “I'll take first watch.” 

  
“Second.” said Hen.

  
“Third.” Ace said. 

  
Jay held up four fingers. 

  
“Alright. Sleep well.” TV said. They flapped a few times to land on a nearby tree branch. Their friends slowly drifted to sleep as they watched the stars. 


End file.
